Prince Harry opens up about missing late mother Princess Diana

Posted by Qayam Published: May 10, 2019, 1:39 pm IST

Screengrab: ANI

Washington: Prince Harry opened up about missing his late mother Princess Diana days after welcoming his son.

While speaking in the Netherlands on Thursday, his first formal engagement since his wife Meghan Markle gave birth to their first child earlier this week, the Duke of Sussex spoke about his late mother, reported E! News.

Diana passed away in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36.

The Duke of Sussex jetted off to the Hague, Netherlands to attend a presentation for the 2020 Invictus Games, which will be held in the city. Harry is a royal patron of the annual international Paralympic-style event for wounded, ill veterans, military servicemen and women.

Former soldier and would-be competitor Dennis van der Stroon met Harry and told the press that they spoke about family and ‘losing a mother’.

“He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security, how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother,” van der Stroon revealed.

The former soldier also said that Harry “talked about how having a small child was his new focus and new goal” and that Harry also “said he was just amazed by the miracles in the world, and how his child has made a lot of people happy.”

“He also told me he’s really happy that his son is so far very quiet” he added.

For the event, the Duke of Sussex wore a jacket embroidered with the words “Invictus Family Daddy” and “I am Daddy” highlighted in yellow. He also received gifts for his newborn, including an Invictus Games onesie from Princess Margriet of the Netherlands.

Harry’s friend JJ Chalmers, a former Royal Marine and Invictus Games medalist, said Harry described fatherhood as “amazing” but “hard work,” adding, “He said that [Archie] slept for the first 24 hours like all babies do…and then he woke up.”

“I see the guy with a buzzing smile on his face still. Like any father he lights up even more when he speaks about his son and how proud he is of his wife and what she’s doing right now in his absence,” Chalmers said.

During a photo-call on Wednesday, Meghan and Harry introduced their newborn to the world. The royal couple later announced that they have named their son: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The two introduced their child inside St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, where they celebrated their wedding reception just a year ago.

“It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy,” Meghan said during the photo-call.